An Opportunity
by fluffymarshmellows
Summary: Bertholdt has been in love with the petit blond girl named Annie. He wasnts to talk to her but his too timid to do it. He likes her a lot. This is a school au for Shingeki no Kyojin/Attack on Titan
1. Chapter 1

The first time he saw her walking he fell in love with her. This was back in kinder garden.  
>He never paid attention to any other girl, just her.<br>She was petit, serious and tomboyish. He never really talked to her… he was scare of doing so.  
>He wanted to tell her how he felt, but before that he had to become her friend.<p>

She never talked to anyone and he was timid to begin a conversation with her. He didn't know what to do but he really wanted to do something. Their senior year was about to be over and he needed to do something about it, he wanted to at least be her friend and know more about her.

"Bertholdt, you have to do something about it. You keep staring at her." Reiner, his friend said to him.

"I… I don't know how to talk to her." Bertholdt said sighing

"Do it! That Armin guy is already making a move on her."

Bertholdt looked pass Reiner to the next lunch table and truly enough Armin was with the girl he wanted.

He really wanted to talk to her but just thinking about it made him sweat like a pig

"Bertholdt stop sweating so much!" Ymir said

"Ymir, don't mean towards him." Historia said looking at her best friend

Ymir laughed and then looked at Bertholdt

"Look, you have to go and talk to her. We have two weeks until we graduate, after that you will be at lost"

Bertholdt hide his face in his big hands. He really wanted to talk to her he wanted to do many things with her, but all he really want was to embrace her in a big hug and just hold her for a long time. But that would probably freak her out. After all they didn't know each other.

After lunch he went to his next period.  
>He had that class with her.<br>It was history with Professor Levi Ackerman, it was a boring class since this teacher never did something fun. He was short and very serious he never cracked a smile in front of his students he always looked like he wanted to kill someone. But sometimes the class would get interrupt by his wife Hange Zoe (who never change her name), and that was quite fun.

"Today we are going to talk about the High Middle Ages." Mr. Ackerman said in a boring voice "Most of the ignorants out there think that the medieval period was full of sickness and death and nothing good happen. Those ignorants didn't put attention in their History class like this person" he said pointing at Eren Jaegar who was sending notes to one of his frenemies Jean

Eren looked like a tomato after the teacher said that.  
>Bertholdt wasn't putting any attention to that he kept looking at that girl he really wanted to do something about it.<p>

"Today we're going to be in groups" the teacher said. "But I am going to pick your groups today."

Everyone complained after hearing this.

"Shut up, or else I'm going to fail you in this class and make it look legit!" he said a little more angry than normal

Everyone quite down and looked towards the midget

"Annie and Bertholdt will be in a group"

At the sounds of these words Bertholdt's heart sank to his stomach.  
>This was his opportunity and he wasn't going to waste it.<p>

When the teacher finished talking the students move to be with their partners.  
>Bertholdt grabbed his stuff and moved to where Annie was sitting.<p>

"Hello" he said "I'm Bertholdt…"

She looked up at him with her bored eyes.  
>He saw deep into her. She looked lonely<p>

It was not her eyes, but this just confirmed everything he thought about her, he had noticed that she was lonely, she never smile and she didn't really care for anything since her father past away.  
>He could never forgive himself he didn't do or said anything to her or helped her.<p>

"I know" she said "You're very tall, you know. Everyone knows who you are"

Bertholdt felt his cheeks warmer and sweat begin to appear. He couldn't say anything else; he had a nub in his throat. He simply couldn't talk. Now this time he could never do anything or said anything for this girl he loved so much.

The homework was quite difficult for both of them since they hated this subject. He wanted to do the work right because he wanted to impress her. He wanted to show her that he could be a man.  
>He didn't know why he had fallen for her. A little kid couldn't know what love was, but they were almost adults and he could feel how his heart beat a little faster every time, how he couldn't keep his eyes away from her, he didn't know what to do.<p>

The door of the classroom opened with a loud sound.

"Get out."

"Listen Levi, I finish my history book! I just had to tell you. I'm finally done with my tenth book!"

"Calm yourself Hange" Mr. Ackerman said trying to keep his wife from jumping

"You should understand! You're a history teacher! Don't you see that I've finish this book! I've been working non-stop since three months ago!" the teacher said

"Okay woman! Calm down! I'll read it when I have time!"

"Really?!" she said a little too hyper

Bertholdt looked at both of the teachers loud conversation.  
>How could that relationship worked? She was too happy to be with a serious guy like Mr. Ackerman.<p>

"She needs to shut up" Annie said getting some hair out of her face

Bertholdt looked at her. This was one of those moments when he totally was all over her. That movement was just too much for him.

"Please stop staring at me" she said a little annoyed.

The bell rang. Hange and Ackerman stopped talking at the sound of it but Hange continue after a moment.

"A-a-annie, we didn't finish…" he said

They were both standing. She was so little and cute and beautiful. He couldn't resist her.

She looked at him with those lonely eyes

"Do you want to go to the café in the downtown of Trost and finish the homework there?" he asked

She looked up at him and looked him directly in the eyes

"Yes, that would be okay." She paused and looked at her watch "I don't know how to get there though. I don't have a car or anything…"

"I could pick you up" he said almost immediately

"Okay. Is tomorrow fine?"

"Yes…" he said attempting a smile.

"Pick me up at 2:30PM so we can finish this in time"

He nodded without thinking. He couldn't believe what had happened  
>She left him there standing, he was happy.<p>

"Oi, get out. You 're going to be late for your next class…" Mr. Ackerman said "You look like an idiot staring where she was."

Bertholdt grab his stuff and went to his next class with Professor Nanaba. Reiner and Historia would be there. He had to tell his best friend of what had happen.  
>He couldn't wait till tomorrow; it was a good thing that it was a weekend, he couldn't wait. That Friday was going to be one of the longest Friday's of his life.<p>

_**This is an alternate Universe where the trainees go to school.  
>I'll try to post the next chapter as soon as possible.<strong>_

_**Thank you for reading (^^_^^)**_


	2. Chapter 2

Annie walked away from the history class to her next period: Calculus.  
>School was too much for her. There were too many people, and now that Bertholdt had asked her to go out to do the homework was going to make it worse. She barely knew this guy.<br>She could have done it in her own. She should have said that; however, that was going to get her out of the house for once. She spent too much time alone in her house.

In the Calculus class Professor Edwin Smith was at the door greeting the students with a smile and a pop-quiz. These pop-quizzes were like real life tests. It took most of the period to do them and sometimes extra time the next day.  
>Annie hated that class and Mr. Smith's bushy eyebrows. The eyebrows looked like they could jump out of his face and murder someone.<p>

"Listen, you can leave after you finish the quiz." Mr. Smith said "Before we start we have homework for this weekend. Problems 1-20 even, 54-60, and try some problems from the next chapter 1-50."

"What's the next chapter?" Sasha asked eating some potato chips

"The next chapter is Trigonometry." Mr. Smith said looking at her "Ms. Braus stop eating in my class"

"Umm… chorry… ill fisnish fasts" she said eating the chips faster.

"Well, remember you can leave after you finish the quiz."

Annie looked at the test. It wasn't that bad. They were just functions, domain and range nothing bad. She knew how to solve these problems.

* * *

><p>Ms. Nanaba had an experiment to do that day. The class was psychology.<p>

"Today we're going to experiment our fears." She said with a smile "pick a partner and talk about the fears you have and what you do to not have them."

Bertholdt moved to where Reiner was. He had a big smile which surprise Reiner.  
>Bertholdt didn't know how to tell his best friend what had happen, he wanted to tell him every detail but he didn't know how to begin.<p>

"Bertholdt what are your fears?" he asked

"Standing in front of a group to talk." He said with a smile

"Okay…" Reiner said writing it down in the sheet of paper "What do you do to solve the problem?"

"I have not solved it yet." he said looking out of the window

"Do you have another one?"

"I'm afraid of spiders"

"How do you solve that one?" Reiner asked

"I don't." He said looking at the floor now.

Bertholdt was so dreamy. He imagined many things happening the next day. He couldn't keep his mind away from her. They were going to have something close to a date.

"Do you ever solve any of your problems?" Reiner asked a little frustrated "You look weirder than any of the days I've spend with you, and I have spend most of my life with you."

Bertholdt looked at him serious

"I'm sorry." He said looking at him

"Do you have something to tell me?" Reiner asked

Bertholdt looked at him and smile. This smile was the smile he showed when he was very happy. This showed that something had happen in his previous class.

"I… I... Me and Annie… are going to a café tomorrow to finish our h-h-homework" he said blushing

Reiner laughed really hard and punched Bertholdt in the arm. He must have had laughed a little too hard because Ms. Nanaba shot them an angry look.

"Sorry" Reiner said still laughing "The only fear that I have is to end up alone"

"Have you found a solution to solve this?" Bertholdt asked

"Yeah… I know my friends won't leave me."

"I wouldn't said that" Historia said with her cute voice behind Reiner

Reiner turned around with a surprise look on his face.

"What the hell do you mean?" Reiner said

"I was kidding" Historia said laughing "I came to borrow a pencil"

"I don't have one for you" Reiner said turning around"

They kept talking but Bertholdt only started at them. He could see Annie and himself acting like this.  
>He could be so happy with her. He felt like she could understand him.<br>He could be there for her and help her release all that loneliness in her heart and mind. He could do so many things to make her happy, he could make a perfect friend just for her; he would do that just for her because he loved her. He loved her deeply.  
>She was like a planet in his universe. A planet that was part of the most beautiful constellation in his space a planet that circled really close to his heart.<p>

"Look at him" Reiner said "He keeps smiling at nothing."

"Leave him alone" Historia said

"He's going out in a date" Reiner said laughing once more

"Oh! That's wonderful! Who are you taking?"

"Is not a date" Bertholdt said nervously "Is a get-together-to-do-homework"

Historia smile

"Who's the girl" she asked

"Isn't it obvious, baby?" Reiner said

"Is it Annie?" Historia said surprised "How did you asked her?"

"We have to finish some work" Bertholdt said.

Hey, we have one more dance to go to." Historia said "you should invite her."

"Ah…" was all that Bertholdt could said. It wasn't time to think on that just yet. The dance was in a week but he couldn't make himself dream so much because it could hurt later on if his dreams do not come true.

Bertholdt was sweating so much; it was so hot he felt like a volcano had swallow him whole. He couldn't handle the level of embarrassment he was in.

He was happy because he was finally going to make a move on her.  
>This could lead to so much.<p>

* * *

><p>Annie finished her pop-quiz fast.<br>She handed it to the teacher and walked out of the classroom with her book in her hands.  
>She would walk home today. She lived alone after all; no one would be waiting at home.<br>That always made her sad and even more lonely, she wanted someone to take that away from her, she wanted someone to be there for her, someone who could leave her/his house to rush to her side if she was sad. She longed for a true friendship.

* * *

><p><em><strong>I was going to update sooner but the university is taking most of my time.<br>Thank you for reading! Please enjoy (T_T)/***_


	3. Chapter 3

The afternoon was cold.  
>Everything was still nothing really moved around; it was like any other day.<br>People walked the street, talked, spend time with their families and rest; one can be safe to said that those people were happy. They were surrounded by people and things they loved. Those people were lucky to have all that available for them yet they took that for granted.  
>She was like that at some point.<p>

Annie would look at these people and remembered when she was a happy girl beside her father, she also remembered when he would go and picked her up from school; they would walked together all the way from school to their house.  
>He worked in the mornings and made good money, he was a manager in a local industry. She had everything she could wish for but she didn't appreciate at the time, she was like the people she sees when she walks around, people that have things that made them happy but those people do not realize it the precious things they have until they lose them.<p>

When Annie got home it was close to 5:00PM the sunset was setting and it looked like snow was going to come, after all it was November.  
>She went to her backyard and cut some wood for the fire just in case the snow fell.<br>She hated being at home. Everything reminded her of her father and that made her lonely, sad, miserable... She loved him so much and now he's gone.

"Daddy, whatever you are… I love you" She said looking at the sky before letting her axe fall to cut the wood.

She smiled while tears came out of her eyes. She felt so lonely. She didn't have anyone in the world for her. She longed for friendship, but at the same time she was scare of letting people in.  
>She did have family over in Stohess, it was an aunt and she managed the money Annie's father had left for her. They weren't close but they respected each other.<br>Annie thought of her as an acquaintance. She had only seen this elder woman at her father's funeral about a year ago.

As soon as Annie finished cutting the wood and putting it inside beside the fire place she prepared herself some food.  
>It was simply rice. She knew that that kind of food wasn't healthy for her, she needed to eat something else; but she didn't really care, nothing really was important anymore. She wanted to sleep and never wake up; she didn't want to keep living there was not a purpose in it anymore.<p>

Suddenly the snow fell.  
>Her eyes open a little more. She always enjoyed this kind of weather.<br>Annie ran to her room got some blankets and pillows, and put the wood in the fire place. The fire was lit up immediately.  
>The window closest to the fire place had some kind of bed by it; she fell asleep by the window as the fire burned and the snow fell to the ground. At that moment, just before she fell asleep, she felt happy.<p>

* * *

><p>By the time Bertholdt got out of his job the snow had begin to fallen.<br>Reiner was waiting for him when he got finished. They had gym after Bertholdt finish his job.

"Bertholdt you always take more time than you need." Reiner said putting his earphones on

"I do?" Bertholdt asked confuse "I do need to talk to my players after practice. My superiors won't pay me if I do not do a good job."

"Just hurry up next time." Reiner said looking at him

Bertholdt unlocked his car and they got in.  
>His car wasn't exactly clean.<p>

"Damn Bertholdt, you haven't clean your car?" Reiner said

"No. Is not that dirty"

Reiner shot him a look

"Isn't Annie riding with you tomorrow?"

And then it hit him.  
>Annie was going to ride with him and he couldn't take her in his dirty pick up truck.<p>

"I forgot! I don't have time to clean it either!" Bertholdt said freaking out and sweating "I have a reunion tomorrow with my superiors from the Soccer league"

Reiner laughed and looked at his friend who was clearly very worried.

"Drive us to the gym and we'll figure something out."

Bertholdt drove to the gym with a worried look on his face.  
>They didn't exactly talk in the way there; Reiner texted with Historia most of the time while getting there.<p>

Bertholdt couldn't believe himself. He was so worry.  
>He needed to find a way to make his car clean and go to the reunion.<br>This reunion was crucial. It was about his payment, and it could either go up or down depending on how much work he's willing to do and how much work he needed to do for this season.

They enter the gym and went to the locker room, and got ready to go train.  
>The work-outs always made Bertholdt happy and at peace with himself, this helped him calm his feelings and forget about his problems. He really enjoyed it.<p>

"Do you think Annie would like the type of man you are?" Reiner asked taking his t-shirt off and changing it for another one

"I… I… haven't think about it" Bertholdt said flushing

"Well, what do you think now?"

"I think she wouldn't like me" he said a little depress "I am too awkward"

"She also is awkward, Bertholdt."

Bertholdt didn't say anything just looked at the floor.  
>After a moment he decided that it was time to leave Reiner in the locker room alone.<p>

"Bertholdt wait" Reiner said when Bertholdt was in the doorway "Historia says that you two would make a good couple."

"I can't have that kind of dreams right now" Berthold said closing his fists "because she's not into me… I... I... I wish she was, because I do love her."

"Of course you do! You can stop staring at her, thinking about her, writing about her… everything you do is for Annie, to impress her." Reiner said getting closer to his friend and giving him a nice hit in the stomach

Bertholdt smile a little and went out of the locker-room to train.  
>Reiner was right, after all Annie was his most precious constellation, the best rose in the rose-bush, she was the perfect snow flake, she was everything beautiful in this world.<p>

This time both of them did entirely different things in the gym. Mainly because Reiner sensed that Bertholdt needed some space, he needed to think; and he wasn't wrong.

Bertholdt had also received a call from his parents. They wanted him to come over to Sina and live with them because they missed their little boy.  
>He didn't want to move, there was a reason why he had stayed in Trost when they left a year ago. Reiner didn't know about this, because no matter how manly Reiner though he was that would hurt him deeply.<br>Bertholdt didn't want to leave because that meant leaving everything he had built in Trost, and leaving the love of his life.

"_I want to be someone special to her, but I can afford to think that"_ Bertholdt thought. "_I have to see what time says about us"_

He wanted to make tomorrow perfect. He wanted to get closer to her. He wanted to discover a new world with her and fly away from everyone.

"Hey, Bertholdt!" Reiner said across from him "Historia and I will clean your car tomorrow. You can take my car to your reunion and when that's done we will have your car ready."

Bertholdt looked at his friend and smile.  
>He had an amazing best friend.<br>How could he leave Trost right now?  
>School was about to end and a new chapter of his life awaits, he wasn't going to change his plans, he had already apply for the University of Rose and most of his friends were going to go there, also the university was in Trost and moving meant leaving his friends and his perfect job behind, besides he had receive an scholarship from the university he couldn't waste that.<p>

"Thank you, Reiner" he said with a smile

"Just make sure you don't show off your amazing body to her in the first date" Reiner said joking

"… Is not a date!" Bertholdt said blushing.

"_But I wish it was one…" _He thought looking to the mirror where his reflection stared back at him

* * *

><p><em><strong>Well here it is!<br>I was going to uploaded sooner but my internet was down.  
>I'm very sorry. \(._.)**_

_**Please enjoy it!  
>Thank you for reading.<br>\(_-_\)**_


	4. Chapter 4

The day was beautiful.  
>The snow from the day before glowed in the ground, the sky was blue and the pine trees green. Everything looked amazing.<p>

Annie looked outside and saw some people running along the sidewalk of her home. Her father and she used to go walking around the neighborhood

"Ugh…" She said closing the drapes of her window.

She got up from her little bed by that window and went to the kitchen to grab something to eat; cereal and milk like usual.  
>After that she grabbed her math books and begun doing her homework.<br>There were two more weeks left and the teacher wasn't even going to give them a study guide for their final or study with them in the days they are suppose to study as a class.  
>Mr. Smith was very strict, but Annie never thought he would be harsh on them. It's true they were seniors and that they were about to go to the university but doing something as a high scholar in high school was probably the best last thing to do, even though everyone said that they were being prepare for the harshness in the university.<p>

Annie looked at the next chapter when she was done with the homework.  
>She dropped the book to the floor. The next lesson was the kind of lesson she hated in the Mathematic Universe: Sine-1, Cosine-1 and Tangent-1. She didn't understand them at all. It was something that her mind could never break.<p>

If her father was alive he would had helped her! Math was his specialty. It came naturally to him, but not to her.

"That damned cancer! I hate this! I hate everything about this town! I have to move away from everyone, away from all these memories!" she screamed running outside to her backyard.

She felt horrible. She couldn't stop thinking about her father. After all her father taught her many things, and was always there for her. If he just hadn't die from cancer, if he had won the battle she would still be with his father.  
>Everyday the loneliness only got bigger.<br>Maybe it was time to move to Stohess…

The snow in her backyard looked beautiful, the sunshine reflected in the snow making it glow.  
>It was cold outside and she wasn't wearing any shoes. Her feet were in pain.<br>She didn't care.  
>Lately she didn't even feel it.<br>Damn. She was getting destroyed by her surroundings.  
>She wanted to be happy, she had try to make friends and be friendly to people but her sadness would always make her grumpy.<br>She was already a grumpy person, but she had happiness almost every day when her father was with her, and now everything seemed like nothing in the world could change her opinion.

She remembered the last words her father had said:

"_Annie, remembered, you are strong and you can go through everything. I love you…"_

* * *

><p>"Bertholdt!" Historia screamed "You're going to be late for your reunion!"<p>

Reiner and Historia had woken up early and headed to Bertholdt's place so they could clean his car.  
>They were surprise that Bertholdt was still asleep. He was, after all, a morning person.<p>

"This is weir" Reiner said scratching his head "He always go jogging in the mornings before doing anything"

"Maybe he was tired today" Historia said

Reiner proceed to open the door, he had a spare key to Bertholdt's house.  
>They entered and went directly to Bertholdt's room in the second floor of the house<br>Bertholdt was still sleeping; his upper body was in the floor and the other half still in bed. The pillows were everywhere and the sheets in the floor.  
>Reiner looked at him and laughed. Historia smiled.<p>

"He looks like a baby" Reiner said

"A strong baby." Historia said "Look at all those muscles."

"I have muscles too!" Reiner said a little angry "Don't you like my muscles?" he asked annoyed

"Yes…" Historia said rolling her eyes "Not everything is about you!"

Reiner hugged his girlfriend and kissed her forehead

"Bertholdt, buddy… wake up" Reiner said touching his friend

"Um… is… it morning?" Bertholdt asked a little sleepy, his eyes didn't open

"Yes is 7:25AM"

Bertholdt open his sleepy eyes. Looked at Reiner and then at Historia

"Reiner! Why is Historia in my room?" Bertholdt asked trying to cover himself

"You're not naked" Reiner said rolling his eyes "don't be embarrassed."

Historia smiled and got out of the room.

"I'll be in your kitchen cooking something for you to eat." Historia said to Bertholdt

She was always so nice and serviceable no one could compare to her. Bertholdt still didn't understand how his best friend got that girl or a girl at all.

"_Isn't it obvious?" he said to himself "he's not timid or shy like me"_

"Get up!" You have left than 15 minutes to get ready!" Reiner screamed at him.

Bertholdt got up and went directly to the shower.

"Where are the cloths you are going to use?" Reiner asked

"I don't now what I'm going to wear yet!" Bertholdt said back from the shower

"The food is ready!" Historia said from the kitchen

"Did you hear that, Bertholdt?"

"Yes!" Bertholdt said hurrying up

Bertholdt didn't know how he asleep in. He never did that before. He was clearly a morning person and now he was rushing. This reunion was so important to him and for the people he worked for. How could he have forgotten? This was awful… He was going to be fire… That would not help at all, he would have to move to Sina with his parents and leave everything behind.

He got out of the shower and ran to his room.

"Here, your clothes are iron." Reiner said showing Bertholdt were his clothes were "Hurry up so you can leave."

Bertholdt looked at his friend and hugged him.  
>He was so thankful he had a friend like that. He could never ask for something better.<p>

"Reiner I'm going to be in the garage looking at Bertholdt's car to see how bad it is" Historia said

"Thank you" Bertholdt said with tears of happiness building in his eyes

"Don't worry about it; just go before it gets late. Eat in the car!"

Reiner sounded like a mom, taking care of him and making sure he did the right things. It was unbelievable, most people wouldn't believe Bertholdt if he ever say that Reiner was a friend who took care of him.

Bertholdt got in Reiner's car and went to his reunion.

This day could get worse if he didn't get himself together.  
>He felt so hot and was already sweating. He couldn't believe himself.<br>This reunion was only for the purpose of making the League better, this would not affect his job at all, and he knew that. But it still made him nervous… He hated to talk in front of all those old people and report what he was doing and how he was doing it.

Bertholdt knew that this would only take a few hours… He would be in time for his 'get-together-to-do-homework' with Annie and his car would be clean. He will try to talk to her… he would do his best… He just didn't know how.

* * *

><p><em><strong>I think the homework get together will be in the next chapter… I thought it was going to be in this one but… it is not… sorry \(T^T)**_

_**Thank you for reading!  
>Please enjoy! (~_~)**__***^***_


	5. Chapter 5

**_~~Back Story~~_**

Bertholdt and Reiner have been friends since they were little kids.  
>They met back in kinder garden the first day of school. Soon enough they became friends, they care for each other and took care of one another.<br>Their parents built a big friendship thanks to their kids.  
>Whenever Bertholdt's family wanted to do something fun they would contact Reiner's parents to see if they could come or at least if Reiner could come.<p>

As the years went by they only got closer.  
>They had more friends, but it was mainly both of them.<br>Bertholdt always had a crush on Annie Leonhart. Since he first saw her he totally fell for that girl, which was weir because they were only in kinder garden.  
>First he noticed her pretty smile and her sleepy-like blue eyes.<br>Annie moved to Trost in June in the middle of the school year.  
>Bertholdt never had the guts to talk to her, he would practice almost everyday in front of Reiner or a mirror but nothing ever happen.<br>Reiner on the other hand was a total womanizer; in elementary school he would go out to recess with the purpose of kissing the girls. He stopped when he kissed Mikasa and she ended up punching him, he had to go to the nurse after that.  
>In the third grade a new girl showed up. Her adoptive father worked for Annie's father. Her name was Historia Reiss.<br>As soon as Reiner saw the girl he went with Bertholdt to see her.

"Marry me!" he said demanding while pointing a finger to her.

The little blond girl looked at Reiner, blushed and ran to the classroom.

The next day she was wearing white and she brought some flowers. Her adoptive mother was there with little Historia holding her hand.

"My daughter told me one of the kids wanted to marry her" she said laughing "so she insisted to wear white"

The teacher, Ms. Nifa, laughed for a little and looked at Historia

"Who's the boy?" Ms. Nifa asked amused

"I don't know his name yet" she said with a cute voice "but he's blond and has little golden eyes."

At that moment Reiner blushed deeply, got up and went to the teacher. Everyone laughed.

"It… it was me…" Reiner

Ms. Nifa laughed even more.

"Oh my, it's you Reiner! Do you really want to marry this girl?" she asked

Historia hide behind her mother.

"Yes." Reiner said "I asked her and she wants to, so I must marry her"

"Well" Historia's mother said "You're going to have to wait till you are both grown. After that we're going to talk." She said amused

Historia smile at Reiner and Reiner smile back.  
>Since that day, they had been together. Both of them didn't realize what being together meant till they reached middle school.<br>At the beginning it was more like a joke but after the years it became serious. Reiner stopped being a womanizer and settle down. This amused all the teachers who knew him.

Annie, since she moved to the school were Bertholdt and Reiner attended, would always play with the other kids, but would almost every day go to school with black or purple marks on her arms or legs.  
>The teachers were concerned with this so they call her father in.<p>

"Mr. Leonhart, we've notice that Annie has marks on her body. We would like to know what it going on"

Annie's father was annoyed at what the principal had said

"She practices martial arts with me." He said serious

"She doesn't need to be doing that right now. She's eight."

"She will need it in the future." Mr. Leonhart said

And that was the end on that.

Annie grew up with only her father being her one true friend. She was very afraid of making new friendships or acquaintances. She would barely talk but she would play with everyone.

* * *

><p>By the time they were in high school Reiner and Historia had a longed history together, Bertholdt was very athletic and Annie was the outcast of the school.<p>

No one talked to Annie, even though she was nice. She was very quite and she wouldn't talk to anyone.  
>Bertholdt still hold a crush on her. He was head over heels with this girl.<br>He wanted to get closer to her. He had some notebooks full of poetry for Annie but they were a secret – till Reiner found them and demanded an explanation -.

Bertholdt got a job in the middle of sophomore year for a Soccer League in the city. He had shown good athletic intelligence since he was a little kid. His parents were quite happy about it. He had also received an invitation to the University of Rose and they offer him a full scholarship. They really wanted him in their soccer team.

In their junior year several things happen: Historia's best friend, Ymir, had moved from Historia's old town and now they were together again; Bertholdt's parents left Trost to go to Sina because they didn't want to live in Trost anymore; Annie's father die and Historia's father took over Mr. Leonhart job as the CEO of the company.

Annie was hit very hard by her father's dead. He had a cancer in the brain and they only found out when it was too late. She was supposed to leave Trost and go on living in Stohess with her aunt, but she refuse to leave the house were she had moved 12 years ago. With her father and mother gone she didn't really have a reason to impress anyone.  
>After her father's death Annie became a very lonely girl, no one would talk to her, she became very grumpy, and she could never see the positive things about anything anymore.<br>Even though she wanted to see it, she couldn't. She didn't know how.  
>She tried to be friends with Mikasa, but Mikasa was like her. The only difference between them being that she had two precious friends and Annie did not have one.<br>She stopped there and talked to her when it was necessary.

Annie just really wanted someone, she wanted to stop talking to herself at home and tell someone all the pain she had inside, she wanted to tell someone all she had gone through, she wanted to cry in someone shoulder. She was tired of crying alone, she wanted someone who could understand her pain; she had to get her angriness and sadness out to be a peace with herself, but she didn't know who would be willing to that, she always found this thoughts as pointless.

She didn't know how Bertholdt felt for her.  
>If she had, she would have probably come to him and talk to him let everything out.<p>

Annie felt alone in the world.  
>Bertholdt wanted to help because he had notice she was lonely, and he knew she needed someone.<br>They both needed someone. They just didn't know at that time.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Here, have some background.<strong>_

_**Have fun reading it!**_

_**Thank you for reading!  
>Enjoy it! (U_U)/ * \(U_U\)**_


	6. Chapter 6

Annie went back inside the house ignore her homework and went to her room. Annie laid on her back and stare at her ceiling, her short blond her was in her face and the pillows weren't even in the bed with her. They were in the floor.  
>She sighed.<br>She wanted to do something fun today, something that would at least make her heart warm, she really needed something like that. Unfortunately she had homework to do and in the afternoon she had to go to a café and finish her history homework. How annoying.  
>In days like today – where she had things she didn't want to do – her father would get her hot chocolate and make her waffles.<p>

She felt a little pain in her chest.

"_Stop it! I don't want to remember him anymore" _she thought to herself.

She curled herself into a ball and cover up with the blankets.  
>She soon fell asleep without knowing.<p>

Annie had a dream – which did not happen often.  
>In the dream her father and she were in the local park playing with the snow that had fallen the night before. Her father hugged her and cheered her up after they were done playing.<p>

"_Remember Annie, I love you!"_ Her father would say every time she fell sad.  
>She felt happy and full of energy<p>

_*Nock, nock.*_  
>That sound woke her up. She jump out of bed and ran to open the door.<br>She opened the door and for a while the afternoon sun blinded her. She squint her eyes and then she saw Bertholdt standing in her doorway with a red nose and a sweaty face.

"_How could he sweat with this weather?"_ She asked herself "_Why is he here anyway…"_

Immediately after that thought she remembered why Bertholdt was in her doorway, his car was still on waiting for them.

She looked at Bertholdt.  
>She didn't know what to say.<p>

Bertholdt on the other hand was quite surprise. He couldn't believe that Annie could get more beautiful. His brain could barely process the information.  
>She looked so cute with her hair down and her sleepy eyes.<br>He really just wanted to her how much he loves her, but he couldn't do that. Not yet. But he will do it at some point. He will.

"Hello Annie" he said a little nervous

Bertholdt couldn't believe his Annie was still in pajamas and a little sleepy

"…" Annie just look up to Bertholdt, she couldn't take her eyes away from him.

Bertholdt just blushed.  
>He couldn't do it. She kept staring and he stared back. It was a connection, and Bertholdt was about to explode with all her cuteness.<p>

"Do you still want to go?" she asked with her bored voice

"If you want to…" he said very softly

She looked at him and nodded.

"OK. Please come in. It is cold outside."

"I need to turn off my car." He said looking away from her.

Bertholdt was blushing too much. He felt hot instead of cold.

"Okay" she said "come in when you are done. I'll be ready in a moment"

Annie turned around and went to her room to get change.  
>She grabbed some sweat pants and a hoddie, but then she remembered Bertholdt was dress nicely.<br>Now, why would he dress like that? They were only going to do homework.  
>God, he was an idiot.<p>

Bertholdt saw Annie walk away. He couldn't help but think how cute she was. She was perfect. Simply perfect.  
>When her figure was gone he turned around and went ahead to turn his car off.<p>

"Okay, let's go" Annie said getting out of her room with her back pack in her back.

"Yes…" Bertholdt said nervously without looking at her.

And then he saw her. She was wearing a red short dress, black leggings and black boots. Also, her hair was very neatly put into a bun and her bangs were attached by pins. He could see her eyes more.  
>He was so impress. He couldn't help hide his feelings. They were about to burst.<p>

Annie noticed that Bertholdt was looking at her in awe. She felt herself blushing.  
>Bertholdt wasn't that kind of guy; he was interest in athletic stuff.<br>She lowered her head, so she would hide a little.

"Shall we go?" she asked "I have more homework so I don't want to waste too much time in this one"

"Yes." Bertholdt said.

Bertholdt got out of the house and then Annie followed him.  
>She closed the door and followed Bertholdt to the car.<br>He opened her door, waited till she was inside closed it and then went to the other side and go in.  
>Bertholdt turn on the car and looked at Annie.<p>

"Do you want the heat hi or low?" Bertholdt asked

Annie looked at him and before she could answer her stomach grumbled.

Bertholdt looked at her with an odd expression

"Have you eaten" he asked a little worried

"No." she answer and little embarrassed

"Do you want to go out to eat?"

"I don't have money"

"I'll pay for… you" he said blushing

Annie looked directly into his eyes.  
>No one before had offer to feed her, even when she would comment she was hungry.<br>She felt something inside her chest tingle.  
>She couldn't explain what had happen just then, she didn't know how to.<br>This feeling inside of her was something strange.

"You would?" she asked feeling stupid

The truth was that she was extremely hungry and the money for that week was gone in buying some school supplies.  
>She didn't want to ask her aunt to send her more money.<p>

"Y-y-y-y-yes" he said feeling a little nervous "Y-y-you're dress l-l-like that a-after alllll"

She hadn't take her eyes away from him, he had even notice what she was wearing. No one had said anything about her at all in the past.  
>What was this guy trying to accomplished?<p>

"I only dressed like this" she said taking her eyes away from him and looking to the street "because you are dress like that"

Those words made his heart jump.

"I only dressed like this… because I had a reunion." He said feeling ashamed

Bertholdt put the car on drive and begin driving to one of the restaurants.  
>Annie couldn't look at him. She wouldn't even answer to the last sentence he said.<br>She had a weir feeling in her chest.  
>This guy was taking her out to eat… and this made her warm inside. She didn't know what to said or how to react.<p>

"Thank you…" Annie said.

Those words were the only words she could manage to said.  
>Maybe Bertholdt was someone she could becomes friend with.<br>Maybe this person was someone she could rely on.  
>Maybe they can become friends after this…<br>She looked to the side window and stared at the people walking.  
>Bertholdt from time to time would look at her. He couldn't help it.<br>He had his hopes up, he really did.  
>Bertholdt wanted something to happen and Annie wanted that too.<br>They wanted a new friendship

_**I had to re-think this one several times (*_*) it was difficult.  
>I'll try to be better next time! I promise<strong>_

_**Thank you for reading!  
>Please enjoy it (?n_n)?<strong>_


	7. Chapter 7

Bertholdt didn't know what to say to keep the conversation going. He wanted to talk to her but nothing came out of his mouth. He was nervous and he was sweaty.  
>Annie was confused about the situation.<br>Has someone ever been nice to her?  
>If so, she didn't remember.<br>The only nice person she has known was her father. Her wonderful father

"We can go to the Italian place… is close to the café where we are going to do the homework." Bertholdt said

Annie didn't turned around to see him

"Yeah… that's fine."

"You can pick the place if you don't want Italian." He said nervously

"I like Italian." She said looking at him "besides you are paying"

Bertholdt was looking at the road.  
>Many cars were passing them by.<br>Annie studied Bertholdt for a moment, looked away, and then looked back at him.  
>His dark skin and dark hair made him look better against the white background.<br>She hadn't really paid any attention to him all throughout her life. He did stand out from everyone, but she didn't pay attention to him. Mostly because she didn't want to get attention. She had never really talked to him or attempted to. She wanted to be left alone.  
>But that wish was before she felt so lonely.<br>She was afraid to talk. She didn't know this Bertholdt at all. She knew more about Reiner because he would always joke in the class and talk to her from time to time, Reiner even invited her to sit at his lunch table. But she liked to sit alone… well no, she didn't but she didn't want to socialize. It made her fell uncomfortable.

"_Argh, what am I doing?" _she thought "_I should have said I wasn't hungry"_

Bertholdt turn to look at Annie who was looking at him.

Annie and Bertholdt immediately looked away from each other.  
>Both felt their cheeks burn.<br>Suddenly Annie didn't want to be there with him but left alone.

"We're here" Bertholdt said quietly

"…"

Annie got out of the car and followed Bertholdt into the restaurant.

"Order whatever you'd like" Bertholdt said embarrassed

Annie only nodded. Bertholdt wanted to start a conversation but he didn't know how.  
>They ate in silence and got out of the restaurant quickly. No one said a word to each other and they never met each other's gazes.<p>

They got back into the car when they were inside Annie touched Bertholdt's shoulder, Bertholdt turned around immediately and looked at her.  
>Annie felt her brain about to explode.<p>

"I… Umm… Thank you" she said

"Y-y-you're welcomeee" Bertholdt said turning the car on.

Did he always stutter like that?  
>He was so weir.<p>

* * *

><p>"So you are saying that the high middle ages were not that bad?" Annie asked Bertholdt<p>

"Yes, that's what the books said." He had stayed up till late the day before studying that time period

"Okay…" Annie said "I guess we're done"

"Yeah…" Bertholdt said a little sad.

All they did in their reunion was talked about the assignment. Annie didn't let him ask anything about her.

"Bertholdt?" Annie said looking at her acquaintance "Are you good at math?"

Bertholdt was surprise by the question

"I'm okay." He said

"Could you help me do some of my Calculus homework?" she asked with her bored voice

"Yes!" Bertholdt said immediately

"I have my books back at home" she said looking down to her feet "would you mind looking at it?"

"Not at all!" he said. Bertholdt felt so happy. He couldn't believe what was happening.

"Okay." Annie said getting up from her sit

Bertholdt was so happy he had a big smile on his face. This was a plus

"Did something make you happy?" Annie asked looking up at him

"Yes." Bertholdt said

"Ah…" she said

He open the door to his car and Annie got in  
>Bertholdt couldn't believe what was going on.<p>

He smiled.  
>He felt like he was going to melt the snow.<p>

The driving back home wasn't bad.  
>Like any other 'driving back home' it was faster than the one going away from it.<p>

When they arrive to her house she got down from the car and went to her front to open it.  
>Bertholdt followed her after he had turned off the car.<br>Annie turned around to wait for Bertholdt.  
>He was sweating.<br>She couldn't believe it. It was so cold outside.

They got into the house

"Wait for me here" Annie said while she went to one of the rooms in the back

She came back with a book and a note book

"Sorry you had to come" she said

"Don't worry about it" he said "I'm glad to help you"

She wanted to smile but she couldn't, she wasn't ready

Bertholdt looked at the problems and smile when looking at them  
>He was really good at trigonometry. He was so happy she had asked him for his help.<p>

"This is trigonometry" he said looking at her

Annie just looked at him like he was stupid

"I know what it is" she said

Bertholdt felt embarrassed

"Well you have to use this formula to get it, and apply it here…"

Bertholdt explain everything to Annie.  
>She was so close to him, he could feel her heat.<br>She was putting attention to his lesson and he couldn't stop but think that this was going well.  
>Annie nodded at times and sometimes looked confuse.<br>He knew her expressions, when he saw her confuse look he would explain it again slower.  
>Annie was quite happy that he was able to help.<br>When they were done they both look satisfied.  
>Bertholdt, because he spend more time than planed with the love of his life;<br>Annie, because she had finish all her homework for the weekend.

"We're done" she said "thank you. I appreciate it."

"You're welcome" Bertholdt said very softly

He turned around to leave her house when he was in the doorway she was right behind him.  
>They were looking at each other.<p>

Annie felt her heart get this emotion she had never allowed in.  
>It was something sweet and sour, something pink and violet and a little red.<br>She put attention to Bertholdt and only him. She looked at him in the eyes and didn't move.  
>He was handsome. He really was.<p>

"_Why am I thinking this?"_ she asked herself "_I want to do something about it"_

She saw how Bertholdt's eyes shine when looking at her in that moment. She didn't know how to explain that but she felt a connection happen. Right in those seconds they were sharing together.

Bertholdt could feel his brain about to explode.  
>Annie's bored eyes suddenly didn't look bored. They had something inside of them. The loneliness they share was dissipating.<br>His constellation was looking right at him.  
>Every time he heard her voice it pulled him to this alternate universe where everything was perfect. The constellation was perfect it'll circle around and around. He couldn't stop it, not that he wanted.<br>His heart could feel her heart. He could hear his heart's _bumps_.

Annie got closer to him. She wanted to share her loneliness so it'll be easier to carry it. She wanted to give him something of her…

"_Is this what friendship feels like?"_ she thought "_Or is it something different?"_

Bertholdt looked like a tomato and he knew it, but he didn't care. Something was happening. God had answered his prayers…  
>He lowered his face a little and Annie got on her tippy toes.<br>Everything seemed synchronized; it was like the planets were aligned.  
>His dream…<br>Her dream…  
>Everything was coming together.<br>Annie didn't really process all that in her brain, just like Bertholdt didn't.  
>They got closer to each other by the second, one going up and the other down and then…<br>Their noses touched.

Annie jumped backwards and Bertholdt looked away.  
>People were walking in the sidewalk<p>

"I-I-I-I need to go back inside" Annie said

"Wait" Bertholdt said

Bertholdt pulled an envelop out of his winter jacket and gave it to Annie.  
>She grabbed it rapidly and Bertholdt turned around as soon as he gave it to her.<p>

Annie closed the door and went to her window close to the fire place. She peeked through the close drapes and saw him get in his pick up truck and leave her house quite fast.  
>Annie lay down on her little bed by the window and open the enveloped.<br>She didn't know if she should read it or not… It was something else. The feeling she had.

"_Every time I see your face  
>I feel lucky.<br>Destiny put you in my way.  
>I'm happy it did so.<em>

_I've fallen for you  
>You're a princess to me<br>You've cured my sickness  
>Just by looking at me<em>

_If you cry, I promise  
>I'll cry with you<br>If you need more air to breath  
>I will give it to you<em>

_If you ever feel cold  
>I'll be your protection<br>I promise it!"_

Annie didn't know what to think of the note.  
>She turned it around and it had one more thing writing down on it<p>

"_It would be an honor if you sit with me and my friends"_

And that was all.  
>She was impressed.<br>She couldn't hold her tears back.  
>She felt her heart warm, she didn't exactly feel happiness in her heart but it was the closest thing to it.<br>She was thankful to Bertholdt.

Annie ran to her room and got the pillows and the blankets, put them in the bed by the window.  
>After that she went and got some wood, put them in the fire place and lit them up.<br>Snow begun fallen from the sky. IT was like the day before, but today she had the warm fuzzy feeling in her heart. Her father was doing something for her.  
>That's what she thought anyway.<p>

"Something is changing, daddy" she said while hugging the note and looking out in the window

She was already covered up by the blankets in the bed by the window.

Annie saw that her not so distant future was going to have more fuzzy and warm moments.  
>She thought that happiness couldn't be reach, but she was okay with it. The fuzzy and warm moments would help her open up and see what the world is like.<p>

* * *

><p><em><strong>This one is long! I'm sorry! ( U_U)^\(n_n )  
>I hope you like it!<strong>_

_**Please enjoy  
>Thank you for reading! <strong>_


	8. Chapter 8

The white snow begun to fell to the ground, Bertholdt extended his hand to catch a snowflake and see it dissolve in his big tan hand. He knew that Annie was probably laughing at his letter.  
>Was that the solution?<br>Would she understand his feelings? After all, the letter was only a poem.  
>Was that enough to reach her?<br>He didn't know, but he had tried.

The light in his house were on.  
>Reiner was inside waiting for him. Bertholdt didn't know if it was okay to tell him what had happen, he could not keep secrets from his best friend when he, Bertholdt, was already hiding one from Reiner.<p>

Bertholdt turned the knob of the door and enter the house. It was quite.  
>Maybe Reiner was not in there…<br>It didn't matter, he couldn't think straight anyway.  
>He was just nervous about Annie, maybe he should go and apologize… maybe that was the solution to the sickening feeling he had in his stomach.<p>

"So how did it go?" Reiner asked from behind him

Bertholdt was not expecting that so he jump and turned around immediately.

"So how did what go?" Bertholdt said nervously

"The date!" Reiner said throwing his hands in the air

"Umm… it was… nice?" Bertholdt said nervously while looking at his hands

"Tell me about it"

Bertholdt looked towards his friend, then lowered his face and turned around.  
>He was so afraid to talk.<p>

"We went to eat lunch because she had not eaten, and then we went to do homework, and then… I went to her house… and… we did… homework"

"You went to her house?" Reiner asked surprise

"Yes, because she needed help in homework"

"Did you do anything else?" Reiner asked with a smile in his face

Suddenly Bertholdt remember what had happen just before he left her house

"Yes." Bertholdt said embarrass

Reiner's eyes suddenly got bigger.

"What did you do?"

"Our noses touched" Bertholdt said looking at Reiner in the eyes

Reiner looked at him impressed, but then he burst out laughing.  
>Reiner couldn't believe that he try to kiss Annie Leonhart. She was something else, and everyone knew it.<br>Bertholdt didn't know what to say after that, he was too serious to do it.

"Why are you laughing?" Bertholdt asked

"Because you tried to kiss Annie"

"What is wrong with that?"

"Nothing" Reiner said getting himself together. "I'm proud of you"

Bertholdt smile

"I also gave her one of the poems I wrote for her"

Reiner looked at Bertholdt serious

"Don't you think that's too much?" Reiner asked

"No." Bertholdt said "I want her feelings to reach her because I might be leaving soon"

Reiner looked at his friend directly in the eyes.  
>What was he saying all of the sudden?<p>

"What the heck do you mean?"

"My parents want me to move to Sina" Bertholdt said a little sad

Reiner looked at him and then he turned away from him.

"I hope you at least finish high school with us"

"I don't want to go to Sina, I want to study here"

Reiner sighed and smile at his friend.  
>He hugged him tightly.<p>

"I will go with you."

* * *

><p>Monday morning Reiner waked up with Historia by his side.<br>It had been three month since Historia moved in with him in his little apartment, her parents had not protested after all they were going to get marry.  
>She was beautiful, loyal and a wonderful friend. Who wouldn't want her?<p>

Reiner got up and went to take a shower. Two more weeks and they would graduate. Most of his classmates were staying in Trost to go to the University there.  
>The news Bertholdt told him were not nice though, that would mess up with anything Reiner had plan for their vacation, he didn't want his best friend to leave. He would go with him anywhere, even to war, but what about Historia? Would she be okay to go back to Sina?<br>She was originally from there and her biological parents lived there. It wouldn't be good for her to be there… Everything was so complicated.

"Reiner?" Historia asked from the sink "Are you done?"

"I'll be done in a moment, baby" he said with a bored voice

Historia got close to the showers doors and open one of them up

"What?" Reiner asked washing his hair

"You look unhappy" she said "What's wrong, Reiner?

Reiner looked down.  
>What was he going to do?<p>

"Is Bertholdt" he said

"Did he the date go wrong?"

"No." he said sighing "he might move to Sina"

Historia's eyes widened.  
>Sina<p>

"Are we… going t-t-to move there too?" she asked nervously

Reiner looked at her with a puzzle look.

"I don't know…"

Historia smiled at him, close the door of the shower.

"I'll prepare breakfast" Historia said "Please hurry, it'll get late."

"Are you going to take a shower?"

"No." Historia said with a tint of sadness in her voice.

Reiner knew something had to be done. Bertholdt couldn't move to Sina, there was nothing good in Sina. Besides he had a scholarship that would practically pay for all of his expenses, his parents could not just take him away he had a future in Trost.

School was the same for the four of them.  
>First period, German Grammar, Historia ad Bertholdt had it together<br>Second Period, Mathematics, Reiner had it with Ymir  
>Third Period, Physics, Ymir and Bertholdt had it together<br>Fourth Period, PE, Annie and Reiner had it.  
>The periods were okay. Reiner could not stop thinking about the situation. Historia couldn't keep her head up, she could not go back to Sina it would be hell there. Bertholdt was just worried about what Annie would do that day. Would she be able to sit with them?<p>

The bell rang.  
>Bertholdt got up from her Art class and rapidly walked towards the lunch room.<br>This was it. He would surely know if his feelings had reach Annie in a way. He had waited the whole weekend for this day.

"Hey" a girl voice said behind him

Bertholdt turned around

"Hey" he said to Ymir

"Did you invite Annie to the table?" she asked with a creepy smile in her face

"Yes… w-w-why?" he asked suddenly sweating

"Because she is sitting there with Reiner." She said

Bertholdt looked at Ymir, he grab his food rapidly, paid for it and ran to the lunch room, surely enough, there she was.  
>Her hair was in the normal bun she usually had, with her bangs in her face.<br>She was talking to Reiner while slowly eating her food.

Reiner looked up to Bertholdt and smile

"So Annie, why are you sitting here?" He asked

"I wanted to sit here" she said with her usual coldness

"Ah, I see" he said laughing. "You… you-"

"Don't say anything, Reiner" Historia said "Hello Annie!"

"Hi."

"I'm glad you're sitting with us today!-"

"Thanks" she said without making eye contact

Bertholdt couldn't believe what he was seeing. Annie had taken his invitation and now she was sitting in their lunch table.  
>This was some kind of miracle<p>

"Come on tall boy," Ymir said "Let's go see what you can do"

Ymir walked in front of Bertholdt in direction to their lunch table

"Hey guys! What's up?" she said while laughing

Bertholdt had cut everyone off from his universe.  
>He only saw Annie sitting down in the sit he usually used.<br>He could not believe what was going on, but he was happy.  
>He begun walking in direction to his table, his feet felt heavy and he couldn't think straight.<br>This was going to be a good day, a good, good day.


	9. Chapter 9

Anni e wasn't sure if she really wanted to sit down with Bertholdt's friends.  
>It would be weir. She would not feel uncomfortable but maybe she needed some friends, maybe having friends would bring her loneliness to a stop. She wanted to experiment once again that fluffy-warm feeling Bertholdt had giving her, but she was afraid to ask for more…<br>She didn't want to stay alone and if she didn't do anything about it right now it would always be like this: alone for ever.

The table was alone when she went there to sit.  
>Most of the tables were like that anyway.<br>She sat there for a moment wondering how this would be; she doesn't have a warm memory of sitting down with friends. She has always been a loner, but when her father die, about a year ago, that only got worse. She really wanted to have someone tell her it would be okay.  
>No one really said that. It didn't matter anymore, anyway.<p>

Reiner arrived to the table with his trade of food.  
>He had chicken with thick bread and some rice.<p>

"So you decided to sit with us!" Reiner said to Annie smiling.

"Yeah…" she answer

"Why?" he asked with a grin in his mouth

"None of your business" she said looking at him dead in the eyes

Reiner had a chill go down his spine

"Sorry!" he said "anyway, I'm glad you're sitting with us"

Annie stopped eating and looked at him with her usual coldness.  
>Why was he saying this? Was this because of Bertholdt?<p>

"…Thanks" she said

There was a moment of awkwardness  
>Reiner spotted Bertholdt coming out of the lunch line, Historia was about to sit down when he once again asked<p>

"So Annie, why are you sitting here?" He asked

"I wanted to sit here" she said with her usual coldness

"Ah, I see" he said laughing. "You… you-"

"Don't say anything, Reiner" Historia said "Hello Annie!"

"Hi."

"I'm glad you're sitting with us today! -"

"Thanks" she said without making eye contact

"Hey guys! What's up?" Ymir asked sitting beside Historia "I can't believe you're sitting here with us!"

Annie didn't said anything, she just nodded

"Anyway" Ymir said "I have some homework I need help with"

Ymir kept talking; Bertholdt was still standing by the table.  
>Annie hadn't notice him.<br>The reason why Bertholdt was still standing was because there weren't anymore sits left.

"Hey Bertholdt!" Marcos said from one of the table

"Do you need a chair?" this time it was Mina Carolina who asked "We have an extra one"

Bertholdt smile at the couple and nodded.  
>Marco came with the extra chair and gave it to Bertholdt; however Bertholdt couldn't move, he couldn't believe what was going on.<br>He needed to sit down. He was calling too much attention.

Annie blocked everyone around her, so she still hadn't notice him.  
>Jean walk pass Bertholdt and shove him in the chair.<p>

"Sit down tall boy!" he said joking

Annie looked at her side for a moment, finally noticing the sweating boy.  
>She was surprise, she didn't know why; the warm-fluffy feeling was back, and this time was stronger.<br>She immediately took her eyes away from him. She couldn't handle that. It hurt to see him, it hurt to hear his name, everything about him hurt deep… but the hurting was something she was enjoying. That kind of hurt was something new to her.  
>It wasn't a hurt that would make her sad; it was a hurt that just kept growing and it was something like a pleasure.<br>What was going on?

Bertholdt felt Annie's eyes on him for a moment; he flushed and begun sweating more and more

"Bertholdt!" Reiner said "Are we still on for the party this weekend?"

"Yes" he said shyly

"_I shouldn't have invited her to our table!"_ Bertholdt thought "_She's so quite! She might be a little overwhelmed"_

"Are you going Annie?" Historia asked, her voice was very sweet

"I don't have anyone to go to" Annie answer "I don't really care"

"This boy right here wants to go with you!" Ymir said touching Bertholdt's right shoulder

Bertholdt tense by what Ymir had said

"I-I-I… umm… I-I… Annie… I-I-I" Bertholdt couldn't get to even said something to the blond girl who was now staring at him

"Would you go to the party with him?" Reiner asked seriously

"I don't know" Annie said "He hasn't talked, he hasn't asked me. So I can't really answer that question"

Bertholdt's face was red.  
>He was about to explode and disappear into the thin air.<br>He wanted to go with her, he wanted to spend more time with her, and he wanted to do a lot of things with this girl.  
>She was the girl of his dreams.<p>

The bell rang.  
>Lunch was over.<br>Annie got up from the table and begun walking away to her next class that was History.

"Go ask her" Reiner said to his friend "You want to take her, don't you?"

Bertholdt looked at his friends with a worried face.  
>He ran to where Annie was.<br>He didn't know what words he was he going to said. He was nervous, and he didn't know if he could talk.  
>Everything was so different from last week.<p>

"Annie!" he said behind her

Annie turned around to see the tall boy.  
>Bertholdt was terrified of the moment.<p>

"I… umm could you" he said trying to find the right words "gowithmetothedance?"

Annie looked at Bertholdt baffled

"What?" she asked

"Would you… d-d-d-d-do me the f-f-favor" he begin "no… no, no the favor b-b-b-but the h-honorrrr of g-going with m-m-me to the d-d-dance?" he asked

Annie looked at him with a cold look, but deep inside she was jubilant.  
>She couldn't believe what Bertholdt just asked her. They had just talked recently; they didn't even know each other very well.<br>Well, Annie didn't but Bertholdt did. He loved her since Kinder Gander.  
>She was his everything, nothing in the world could compare to her, and she was simply perfect.<p>

Annie looked at him with a startled look.  
>She couldn't process the information.<br>Bertholdt begin to feel uneasy, the bell for the next class was about to ring.

"Anni-"

"Yes." She said.

The coldness in her voice had left.  
>It was a sweet voice Bertholdt had never heard.<br>Was he dreaming?  
>Was everything a fantasy?<p>

"I-I-I-I…" he stopped talking for a while "I… umm… where… would you like… to eat?" he asked

Annie looked at him.  
>Her coldness around her had left for a moment.<br>She looked more alive, she was prettier!  
>How could she only get prettier?<br>What was going on?

"Come, we are going to be late for class" she said grabbing his hand "and we will talk about that later on."

Annie didn't know why she had grabbed his hand. When she realized that, she let go of it.  
>Bertholdt was delighted because they could share a moment like that one.<p>

* * *

><p>"Well you both are tardy" the teacher said "good thing Levi is not here today!"<p>

Ms. Hange was the one who was in her husband's desk.

"Come, come" the teacher said smiling "you have to turn in some papers from last week, and today you are working in the 1800s! Isn't it fun?"

"Yeah…" Bertholdt said with a shy smile "since, you are tardy just get in a group and work on this" she handed them some papers

"This is a crossword worksheet" Annie said

"Yes!" Ms. Hange said smiling "It's so much fun to do those with partners! I love doing them with Levi"

Annie and Bertholdt sat down together.  
>Bertholdt felt awkward.<br>Annie felt the hurt again.  
>Everything was so unexpected, it did make Annie happy.<br>She felt the same feeling she had felt the night before when Bertholdt had given her the note.  
>The colors seemed brighter. Everything was simply getting better.<p>

"Annie…"

"I would like to go to your favorite restaurant." She said suddenly hiding her face.

Annie's voice didn't sound the same.  
>She got her face up just a little to see Bertholdt and then she smile.<br>Bertholdt had never seen such thing.  
>His face automatically turned red.<br>Deep, very deep red.  
>He couldn't understand why his brain was going crazy, why everything seemed like a dream.<p>

Annie didn't know why she had a smile.  
>Was she feeling overwhelm by the events?<br>It didn't matter… her heart was changing.  
>This person was changing, little by little, her tiny lonely world; it was something like this: her constellation was uniting with another one and it made hers more beautiful than before.<br>She could feel a connection, she could sense the feeling… little worlds spinning around her… she was a planet in a huge constellation that was Bertholdt.  
>Bertholdt was changing everything, and she didn't know if it was good.<br>Is it okay to open up and try to be happy for moment?

* * *

><p><em><strong>Hello there!<br>I'm so very sorry for not updating lately.  
>And I apologize for the previous chapter.<br>I know my writing skills are bad, but that's why I'm writing.  
>I'm very sorry.<br>And ummm…. Sorry because I had not update since long ago.  
>SORRY!<br>I had so many things coming up.**_

_**Please enjoy this chapter  
>Thank you for reading<strong>_


	10. Chapter 10

They continue doing their puzzle quietly, until Eren and Jean begin screaming at each other.  
>All of the people in that class were seniors.<br>Annie couldn't understand why those two acted like grade school kids.

"Eren, Jean" Ms. Hange said pulling Eren out of Jean's way "Please calm yourself"

"No! He's killing me! He can't just shut his damn mouth!" Eren said pointing at Jean

"He doesn't let me look for the words!" Jean screamed

Principal Keith Shadis came into the room and stare at Hange, Eren and Jean.  
>No one in the classroom moved.<br>Bertholdt was frozen; Annie didn't pay attention to the situation.

"Would someone be so kind as to explain this situation?" the principal said looking at the young men

No one said anything.

"If no one explains this shouting to me, I will take the right to go to the ball away from you."

Eren got angrier while Jean tried to calm down.

"Sir, it was a misunderstanding" Jean said trying to explain

"Come with me, both of you" he said seriously "We can negotiate this in my office"

The boys got out and the principal stare at the class for a moment.

"Ha!" Ms. Hange said "Well now we can finish this! We have less than 10 minutes!"

Bertholdt sighed looking down at the crossword.  
>Their time together was about to end.<p>

Annie was feeling the same way. She didn't want the time to end.  
>It didn't matter, she wasn't even trying anymore, Bertholdt was doing most of the working, which<br>wasn't fair…  
>But her thoughts were full of Bertholdt, since last Saturday when they went out.<br>He likes her and he likes her a lot, she was happy about it.  
>She had notice him before, and she had notice that he was quite handsome. One of the best looking guys in their class.<br>He looked mature and quite, and he was helpful to others…  
>Some crazy thoughts had appear in her head since the beginning of their senior year, but Annie would dismiss them as fast as she could because she couldn't allowed herself to do that, she was still grieving.<br>But now she saw this as an opportunity to make things go somewhere. Bertholdt really did try to make her feel comfortable and he looked like the kind of guy who would always be there for her.  
>He was… something else, something she has never seen before, and she was happy that he felt something for her.<br>She knew this… it made her happy, yes, but at the same time it made her afraid

The bell rang and everyone go up.  
>Annie grabbed her backpack and begun walking to the door, while Bertholdt turned the paper in. He followed Annie to catch up with her. Their classrooms were kind of close.<p>

"Hey Annie…" Bertholdt said quietly "If you don't want to sit down with us… you can sit on your own"

Annie looked up at Bertholdt and nodded.

"Well… I'll see you around…"

"Ummm… Bertholdt?" Annie asked removing on of her pieces of her "I've never gone to a dance with a boy"

"That's okay." Bertholdt answered smiling "I will take care of you"

At the sound of these words Annie felt a little punch in her stomach.  
>She only nodded at Bertholdt and walk as fast as she could to get to her math.<p>

"Hey Mina?" Annie asked the young girl who sat beside her

"Yes?" the girl answered with a smile

"Are you going to the ball this Friday?" Annie felt like she was invading someone's property

"Yes" Mina said smiling "I'm going with Marco"

"… Did he ask you?" Annie asked a little curious

"Yes." Mina said covering her face in embarrassment "He bought me a cookie-cake and it said '_would you like to go to the dance with me'_ and… and I said yes" Mina was a little embarrassed to talk about that.

"Oh" Annie said nodding her head.

Was it okay for her to go?

"How do you dance?" Annie asked

"Move your body!" Mina said throwing her hands in the air "Are you going, Annie?"

"Yes…" Annie said looking to the floor "Bertholdt's taking me"

"I knew it!" Mina said almost screaming.

The class turned around to see her, Mina smile at everyone and continue talking to Annie

"Do you have your dress yet? Or what are you planning to do with your hair?"

"No." Annie said thinking "I think I need to go buy a dress…"

"Yes!" Mina said exited "Buying dresses is fun!"

Annie nodded. Her money would come this Wednesday; she could go buy that dress on Wednesday.

"If you can't afford a dress, I have some at home!" Mina said "Marco takes me to all these balls thanks to his family"

Annie looked at Mina with round eyes

"Would you care?" Annie asked

"No! Not at all! After all we are friends!" Mina said smiling

'_Friends'_ Annie realized something.  
>Mina had always been there for her when she had trouble.<br>People were there for her, she just didn't let them in.  
>She wanted to punish herself for things that weren't her fault.<br>She was isolating herself.

"When do you want to come over?" Mina asked with a smile

"Whenever you can" Annie answered, still a little surprise

"Well, you can come this afternoon!" Mina said excitedly "Marco can take us and then he can take you to your house!"

"I can walk from your house." Annie answered

"Annie that's dangerous!"

"Girls!" the teacher said from the front of the room "I would love to have your homework" his voice didn't match his joke, it was rather uncomfortable

"Well" Mina said whispering "You'll pick a dress today! We could do our hair together!"

Annie, didn't know if life was finally smiling at her, or if it was something else.  
>But today has been a wonderful day.<br>She knows Bertholdt's feelings, and she's beginning to understand hers… they were similar.  
>Everything will work just fine.<br>Besides, she just learned she was liked by various people. She felt happy and she felt the need to be a nicer person. Maybe talk a little more with the.  
>She was just happy…<p>

\


End file.
